"Except Rory."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Released on YouTube 3 April 2020.
IN THIS ONE... Little Amelia Pond fills her diary with stories of the Doctor.
REVIEW: Some context first. The Doctor Who production office and community has really rallied during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, offering global watch parties of certain episodes with cast and crew tweeting along, and particularly important to these reviews, new OFFICIAL content, made on the cheap (because if Doctor Who has proven anything in the last six decades, it's that it can survive being made on a shoestring budget), by the actual people normally involved with the show. And some not-so-official. I had to ask myself the question: What actually counts? Well, generally, if the short posted on YouTube was written by a Doctor Who writer and involved characters played by the actor who played them in the show, should have its own title - which means the 13th Doctor's lovely message to kids shaken by these events cannot be included - AND wasn't so self-aware it couldn't possibly be canon - as is the case with the amusing but totally meta Strax short announcing the Day of the Doctor viewing party, even if it was written by Steven Moffat and performed by Dan Starkey (I allow for the "effects") - then I would have to review it.
The first short to meet all the criteria is thus The Raggedy Doctor by Amelia Pond, or rather by Steven Moffat (writing), Caitlin Blackwood (young Amelia), and Sophie Iles (illustrations). Unfortunately, while it's cute, it only really recaps what we already know about Amy's childhood. Blackwood narrates like she's writing it, which is appropriate but a little lifeless. Still, it captures well Amy's relationship with Rory, always a hanger-on and outsider, and yet singled out for special mention. He's almost the imaginary friend in the narrative, though the Doctor is meant to be in reality. There's certainly more production value in this one than in others - perhaps simple animation is one way to get new material out reasonably quickly - but it really is just something to whet one's appetite for an upcoming viewing party.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - Cute, but thin.
IN THIS ONE... Little Amelia Pond fills her diary with stories of the Doctor.
REVIEW: Some context first. The Doctor Who production office and community has really rallied during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, offering global watch parties of certain episodes with cast and crew tweeting along, and particularly important to these reviews, new OFFICIAL content, made on the cheap (because if Doctor Who has proven anything in the last six decades, it's that it can survive being made on a shoestring budget), by the actual people normally involved with the show. And some not-so-official. I had to ask myself the question: What actually counts? Well, generally, if the short posted on YouTube was written by a Doctor Who writer and involved characters played by the actor who played them in the show, should have its own title - which means the 13th Doctor's lovely message to kids shaken by these events cannot be included - AND wasn't so self-aware it couldn't possibly be canon - as is the case with the amusing but totally meta Strax short announcing the Day of the Doctor viewing party, even if it was written by Steven Moffat and performed by Dan Starkey (I allow for the "effects") - then I would have to review it.
The first short to meet all the criteria is thus The Raggedy Doctor by Amelia Pond, or rather by Steven Moffat (writing), Caitlin Blackwood (young Amelia), and Sophie Iles (illustrations). Unfortunately, while it's cute, it only really recaps what we already know about Amy's childhood. Blackwood narrates like she's writing it, which is appropriate but a little lifeless. Still, it captures well Amy's relationship with Rory, always a hanger-on and outsider, and yet singled out for special mention. He's almost the imaginary friend in the narrative, though the Doctor is meant to be in reality. There's certainly more production value in this one than in others - perhaps simple animation is one way to get new material out reasonably quickly - but it really is just something to whet one's appetite for an upcoming viewing party.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - Cute, but thin.
Comments
It will be interesting to see just how long before we see S13, the festive episode seems like it probably won't be affected, perhaps a couple of additional remounts just before Xmas if anything. And clearly, the show is presently in the preparatory writing phase, but sooner rather than later actual physical pre-production probably needs to be enacted to deliver it in a timely fashion. Who knows, we might not see the next series until sometime during 2022.
You would hope if the lockdown conditions are still fundamentally in place moving forward that they might instead look to deliver a series of animated specials instead, assuming their co-financiers agree, that is.